OK, another version down. Thinking this one is done, at least for a few days. I need to let it rest a bit. Still considering if I want to revisit the lesson and actually follow along, but not broadcasting the results alleviates the need to try to make homework into something more than it is.
I used Gaussian blur to create glowing halos around my jellyfish and blending modes to add highlights and shadows to the foreground. I should probably add shadows to the middle ground as well, but I’m not super fussed. The blending modes do make it easier to change base colors, since they’re variations of what’s already there, rather than triads chosen by hand.
I see what the artist meant about translating scale and distance. Changing the scale with the layers already quashed affected the other light rings and left starkly saturated barren patches in the sky. In the end I split the jellyfish into 3 layers, tamping down the brightness and saturation as they progress from foreground to background. The beta jelly is still front and center, but it no longer draws the eye the same way.
inspired by Beginner’s Guide to Digital Painting in Procreate: How to Create Art on an iPad® by Max Ulichney, et al.